Yes, your website needs your HIC number. Connecticut's Home Improvement Act requires every registered contractor to state in any advertisement that they are registered and to include the registration number, and the statute makes no exception for websites, social media or search ads. The simplest compliant setup is a line such as "CT HIC Reg. #[your number]" in the site footer, repeated near every estimate form and in every ad template.
That applies to more businesses than people expect. The statute's definition of home improvement covers remodeling and repairs but also driveways, pools, porches, roofs, siding, insulation, sunrooms, flooring, patios, landscaping, fences, doors, windows and waterproofing on private residences, for jobs over $200. So the landscaper in Old Greenwich and the window installer in Darien are in the same boat as the kitchen remodeler in Stamford. Here's what the law says, where the number should go and what changed in 2025.
What does C.G.S. § 20-427 require in advertising?
Section 20-427(a) of the General Statutes requires each person engaged in making home improvements to exhibit their certificate of registration to any interested party on request, to state in any advertisement that they are registered, and to include their registration number in any advertisement.
The consequences are real. The statute declares any violation of the Home Improvement Act an unfair or deceptive trade practice under CUTPA (C.G.S. § 42-110b), and the Commissioner of Consumer Protection can impose a civil penalty of up to $1,500 per violation after notice and a hearing, the maximum set by a 2023 amendment. Working or offering to work without a current registration is worse: it's a class B misdemeanor under § 20-427(b) and (c).
One more line matters for website copy: § 20-427(b)(6) prohibits representing that your registration is an endorsement of the quality of your work or your competency by the commissioner. "Registered with the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection" is accurate; "State-approved contractor" or "certified by the State of Connecticut" is the kind of claim to avoid.
Who has to register
The act defines a contractor as anyone who owns and operates a home improvement business or offers to do home improvement work, but excludes people whose home improvement contracts total $1,000 or less in any twelve months. It excludes new home construction (which has its own New Home Construction Contractor registration, with the same number-in-every-ad rule under § 20-417d) and tree or shrub cutting and stump grinding. If you're unsure whether your services qualify, ask the Department of Consumer Protection before you publish.
Where should the HIC number go on your website?
The statute says "any advertisement" and doesn't prescribe placement, so the safe design choice is to make the number impossible to miss wherever someone could decide to hire you:
The global footer
Put "CT HIC Reg. #…" in the footer so every page, including blog posts and landing pages built for ads, carries it automatically.
Estimate and contact pages
Repeat it next to the quote form and on any landing page used for paid ads, where visitors decide to contact you.
Your About page
State the registration, the business name it's issued to and how customers can verify it on the state's eLicense lookup.
Real text, not an image
A number baked into a logo image can't be read by screen readers or search engines and is easy to lose in a redesign.
Google Business Profile and social bios
Add it to your profile description and bios. Keep it out of the business name field, where Google's guidelines allow only your real-world business name.
Ads and posts
Include it in Facebook, Instagram and search-ad copy or creative, promotional posts, printed mailers, yard signs and truck lettering.
Does the 2025 amendment let you link to your registration instead?
Not for a typical local contractor. Public Act 25-113 amended § 20-427(a) to add an alternative: instead of printing the number, an advertiser can include a phone number or website address where the public can check whether it's registered and see its registration number. But the 2026 Supplement to the General Statutes limits that option to businesses that are publicly traded on a U.S. stock exchange and spend at least 30% of their advertising budget on campaigns aimed at audiences in five or more states, and it doesn't apply to direct-to-consumer advertising.
In other words, the change was written for national home-improvement brands running multi-state campaigns. If you're a remodeler in Greenwich or a landscaper in New Canaan, nothing changed: state that you're registered and print the number.
Working in Westchester too? County license numbers
Across the state line, Westchester County licenses home improvement businesses through its Department of Consumer Protection. The county's licensing law says no one may maintain, conduct, advertise, operate or engage in a home improvement business in the county without that license, and licensed contractors display a county-issued sticker on their vehicles showing the license expiration date.
Contractor-licensing guides summarize the county's rules as also requiring the license number on advertisements, contracts, invoices and proposals. Confirm the current wording with the department, and if you hold both credentials, show them side by side: "CT HIC Reg. #… · Westchester County License #…". It's one line in the footer, and it answers the first thing the county urges Westchester homeowners to check before they hire: whether the contractor is licensed.
Reviews, photos and claims: the rest of the page
Because a Home Improvement Act violation is automatically a CUTPA violation, and CUTPA covers deceptive practices generally, treat everything on the site as a claim you may have to back up. Use photos of your own projects and label them honestly by project type and town. Don't present stock photography or a supplier's showroom images as your work, and ask homeowners before you publish photos of their homes.
Reviews carry federal rules too. The FTC's Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials, in effect since October 21, 2024, bans fake reviews and testimonials, reviews bought in exchange for positive sentiment, undisclosed reviews by insiders and the suppression of negative reviews through threats. Ask every customer for a review, not just the happy ones, and show real reviews with permission.
Contractor website compliance checklist
Registration statement and number
"Registered with the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection, HIC Reg. #…" in the footer as live text.
Forms and landing pages
Number repeated beside every estimate form and on every ad landing page.
No endorsement language
No "state-approved," "state-certified" or similar claims about your registration.
Every channel
Number in Google Business Profile description, social bios, ad creative, mailers, signs and vehicles.
Westchester
County license number shown next to your CT number if you work in Westchester.
Honest proof
Your own project photos, real reviews, and permission from homeowners for photos of their property.
Renewal
Home improvement certificates expire annually on March 31; update the site if your number or business entity changes.
A website that wins the estimate and passes the check
Compliance is the floor. The contractor sites that generate work pair it with fast project galleries organized by service and town, estimate forms that ask for photos and timing, and a strong Google Business Profile. Our guides to local SEO in Fairfield County and websites that generate leads cover that side.
Our contractor website service builds the HIC details into the template so they can't be dropped in a redesign. A focused landing page starts at $699 and a full business website at $2,500; see web design and SEO for details.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need my HIC number on my website in Connecticut?
Yes. C.G.S. § 20-427(a) requires registered home improvement contractors to state in any advertisement that they are registered and to include their registration number. The statute makes no exception for websites, so put the number on every page, for example in the footer, and next to your estimate forms.
Does my HIC number have to be on Facebook and Instagram posts?
The statute applies to any advertisement, so treat promotional posts and paid social ads like any other ad: include your registration statement and number in the post or creative, and add it to your profile bios.
What is the penalty for advertising without an HIC number?
Any violation of Connecticut's Home Improvement Act is an unfair or deceptive trade practice under CUTPA, and the Commissioner of Consumer Protection can impose a civil penalty of up to $1,500 per violation after notice and a hearing. Offering or doing home improvement work without a current registration is a class B misdemeanor.
Did the 2025 law change let contractors use a link instead of the number?
Only for publicly traded companies listed on a U.S. stock exchange that spend at least 30% of their advertising on campaigns aimed at five or more states, and not in direct-to-consumer ads. Local contractors must still state that they are registered and include the registration number in their ads.
Put the number everywhere a homeowner decides
Connecticut's rule is short: say you're registered and show the number in any advertisement. Build it into your website's footer, forms and ad templates, add your Westchester license if you work across the line, keep your claims and reviews honest, and the compliance part of your marketing takes care of itself.
